Leading for Equity: Opportunities for State Education Chiefs

These ten commitments are actions state chiefs can take to create a more equitable education system in their state. It is not feasible or realistic for any SEA to implement all ten of these commitments at once. Instead, we encourage state chiefs and their leadership teams to use the ten commitments to identify the most pressing concerns and greatest opportunities in their state and create an equity plan that allows their efforts toward educational equity to be monitored, modified, and measured. Within each of the broad categories are specific actions chiefs can take to advance equitable outcomes, guide conversations, and think more holistically to improve equity at scale in their states. This framework does not catalog every
opportunity to advance equity, but highlights those on which state leaders can focus their efforts. In many cases, states already have policies in place to advance equity, especially as states transition to the Every Student Succeeds Act; the ten commitments can supplement these efforts. Once state chiefs and their leadership teams have selected commitments they plan to implement, they can refer to the Resource Appendixwhich offers research, tools, and partners that can support their work.